— Obama administration will request more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration will request more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding from Congress to respond to the Zika virus, White House officials announced Monday.

The bulk of emergency funding, $1.48 billion, would support the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to a White House press release.

Zika is a virus carried primarily by mosquitoes that triggers mild illness in a quarter to a fifth of people who are infected. The CDC has found 50 laboratory-confirmed cases of the virus between Dec. 2015 and Feb., 5 2016 in U.S. travelers.

The proposed funding would be distributed as follows:

$828 million for the CDC to support Zika preparedness and response capacity in areas where mosquitoes are known to transmit the virus; to improve mosquito control programs; to build virus surveillance and education efforts; and enhance laboratory capacity to test for the Zika virus

$250 million for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to support a temporary 1-year increase in Puerto Rico's Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage that would aid pregnant women at-risk of infection or diagnosed with the virus (the territory has documented recent and ongoing transmission of the virus)

$200 million for vaccine research and diagnostics, which includes funding for the NIH to advance the scientific understanding of the virus; funding for the FDA to support Zika virus medical product development

$210 million for other HHS activities including the development of an "Urgent and Emerging Threat Fund" in the event that Zika mosquito population migrates to the U.S.

The remaining funding would be split between the U.S. Agency for International Development, which would receive $335 million, to help control both the mosquito populations and the transmission of the virus in affected countries, and the U.S. Department of State, which would be granted $41 million to provide medical support for U.S. citizens and state department employees in affected countries.

"We are working 24-7 to understand this virus, to detect it where it is occurring, and to prevent it's spread," said Anne Schuchat, MD, principal deputy director of the CDC in Atlanta, during a press briefing.

While health experts have been aware of the virus since 1947, Zika was initially considered "clinically inconsequential." However, the emergence of a pattern of severe birth defects, including an uptick in microcephaly cases in Brazil in 2015 where cases of Zika have also been documented, triggered greater concern for the illness.

While Schuchat said the Zika virus is unlikely to impact the day-to-day life of the average person living in the U.S., expectant mothers are an exception.

"If you are pregnant, we have taken the unusual step of recommending that you avoid travel to areas where Zika is spreading," she said. Schuchat recommended that those who live in such areas be extremely vigilant in applying mosquito repellent and taking measures to avoid mosquito bites.

In late January, the CDC released interim guidelines for healthcare providers treating infants who are born to mothers who have visited or lived in areas where Zika virus transmission has been found.

The Pan American Health Organization counts 26 countries and territories in the Americas with local cases of Zika transmission, according to the White House press release.

Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said the additional funding is vital for researchers to distinguish the virus from other mosquito-borne illnesses such as Dengue and West Nile.

"We need to get a very specific diagnostic to tell a women, particularly who's pregnant," if Zika infection has occurred, he said.

With regard to a vaccine, Fauci said phase I trials could begin at the end of summer 2016, but it's unlikely a vaccine would be widely available for a few years.

The money earmarked for the CDC would also augment the agency's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System and the development of nationwide Zika-related birth defect registries. According to the White House press release, the new funding will also help to expand research on the relationship between the virus and microcephaly and track incidence rates over time.

Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, said, "I think you can see that the nation's public health experts at the CDC and the NIH are working quickly to protect the American public and we hope Congress will do the same."

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